Flaming Arrow
by ObscureClearly
Summary: Katniss goes into the hanger games and all of Panem is forced to watch it, not that you would know it it the capitol. Gale can't stand it, so what will he do? rated T to be safe. CONTAINS SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN'T READ THE ORIGINAL BOOK. Chapter 2 now up!
1. Odds

Flaming Arrow

CHAPTER 1: odds

It isn't fair. It really isn't. When I hear Prim's name at the reaping I go into shock, probably just as much as Katniss. 1 name in millions. The rest happens so fast. I hear Katniss yell, and I see her sweet face in pain. It hurts me more than it should for hunting partners, even for friends. Primrose Everdeen, Katniss' sister is hanging onto her leg, begging for her not to Volunteer for the hunger games. I wish I were able to be like prim and stop her. Though it would look a little strange to the folks of the capitol, A boy two years older than the girl who is volunteering clinging on to her leg for dear life, of course not his life, but for hers. At this I let my self chuckle a bit before I come to the conclusion that Prim wouldn't stand a chance in the arena, but Katniss would. I lift prim up, off Katniss and let her volunteer. I carry Primrose back to our mothers, and my younger siblings. Then I try to comfort her by telling her my story, but it only makes it worse. Then, a Lady with pink hair called Effie trinket draws out the boys' name. I'm hoping it isn't me but with my name in the ball 42 times it is a little hard to hope. I am slightly relieved when the name called out is none other than the baker's, Mr Millard's, son. Peter.  
"And may the odds be _ever _in your favour." The woman Effie said. NO. Not today. Not the same day that Katniss and I were laughing, mocking the capital and delivering strawberries to the mayor. Through the Treaty of Treason I can see that Katniss is struggling not to cry. Even though she has made her face a mask that hides her emotions I am probably the only person that can read her like a book. I also have time to think about Peter. He is a baker's son so he has the advantage of being fairly well fed for District Twelve. I know exactly where he lives, not in the Seam, that is for sure and certain. After the Treaty of Treason, Katniss and Peter are made to shake hands and are taken from the small makeshift stage into the Justice Building. All the people who would like to say goodbye to the tributes are asked to step up onto the stage. Both Millard parents step up onto the stage as do Midge (the mayor's daughter), Katniss' Mother, Prim and I along with others. We were then asked to state our relationship to the tribute we wanted to see. To my surprise, Mr Millard wanted to see Katniss, not Peter. When I am just outside Katniss' room the shock of it hits me. Katniss might not ever come back to District Twelve. I may never see her again. Katniss is a provider for my family as well as my friend. I provide for her family too but there is one more thing I give to her. That thing is something other girls give to and I may flash them a smile and they'll titter and go back to their little friend group. I do give her smiles, all the time, but it isn't that the girls who give it to me don't get it back from me. Affection.

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Author's note: This is my first story, so please review and stuff and I will be posting again soon. There will be Probably less detail on the actual games because Gale is just watching. Midge and Peter Millard are purposeful errors and for the person who said that Peeta's Father visited Katniss, not his mother., In the book it mentions that his mother tells him 'she's a survivor that one,' so she obviously came onto the stage. Hang in there for the next chapter


	2. Flashback

**CHAPTER 2: Flashback**

Entering the room is hard. Katniss is in there, the guards are outside. I feel good when I am with her, like nothing else matters. We embraced, then it got awkward and we talked about the old times, really only a day ago was still 'the old times'. When we first met, how I gave Katniss her nickname, Catnip.

I had just shot a small rabbit and I was just about to go and check the snares I set up when I saw a small girl who looked hungry and desperate tampering with a rabbit that had been caught in one of my snares. "Hey!" I had called out "Those are dangerous!" what was she doing, trying to steal a rabbit I guessed.  
"Sorry," the girl replied meagrely "I just wanted to know how it worked." At that I became curious, what did she have to offer that would be worth my time teaching her these snares and all the game she could gain instead of me?  
"What is your name?" I had probably sounded a little more menacing than I had wanted to be.  
Up close this girl looked familiar, had I seen her at the hob? At a reaping? Another time in the square? I dismissed it as her being at school with me, since there is only one school in the whole of District 12."Catnip." She had replied  
"Well, Catnip? What knowledge do you have that is worth my time." I had tried to sound superior, a lot older than 14.  
"I … I have a … a bow and I … I can teach you h-how to u-use it."  
I took the bow with a small smile, because it was only polite. It was a smile that she didn't return until we one day became hunting partners.

In the Justice Building Katniss gave me instructions about her mother and Primrose. Since I had been man of both households for a while, since we became hunting partners after our dads died in the mine explosion, this wasn't much of a change for me. We talked strategy for a while, what was important to get her hands on, what to do in certain situations. All that. When the Guard came to take me away from Katniss I gave her one last hug, probably our last. I couldn't help noticing that her next guest was the baker, Peter's (Peeta's) father. After that I started thinking about what hunting would be like without Katniss, and how it's harder to hunt when the Hunger Games are on. For one, I'll get less game because Katniss is the one who actually shoots most of the game. I will also have to continue to watch my back constantly and be more wary of airtime. I didn't hunt on the reaping day because there is electricity all through the day, so you can watch the other districts' reapings live throughout the day.

That night, everyone watched the recap of the reapings. Even though the Peacekeepers made us I turned on our TV early, not wishing to miss any of the competitors. The commentators blabber on as the recap of district one is televised. There is a large debate about who should be chosen to volunteer. It turns out to be a menacing girl called Mauve (this is actually Clove) and a guy called Cato. In district two, a monstrous boy lunges forward to volunteer; the female tribute however, is somewhat forgettable. The tributes, volunteers, from three are vulgar and wealthy looking creatures, as are the ones from four. There is a girl who looks as sly as a fox, Anna, I'm pretty sure it was. A sickly boy from 9, a boy with a crippled foot from 10, a giant 18 year old boy and a 12 year old who reminds me of Prim from eleven then there is us, District twelve. The pain revisits, even though it is somewhat more powerful during the recap. Katniss will have to out run, out shoot, out fox, out live these teenagers. After watching the audience's silent applaud, the commentators said goodnight and told Panem that the opening ceremony would be the following night.

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Thank-you for reading my story, I am sorry about any grammatical errors, I have edited it an extra time than the last chapter. From now on, I will call Peeta Mellark Peeta Mellark( if that makes any sense, feels weird typing the same sequence twice). Please review my story, give me positive feedback and advice. See you soon and don't forget to visit my profile.


	3. Fury

At the end of the reaping, the commentators announced that the opening ceremony would be the next day, at 7pm. That meant the whole day to hunt, but soon, there would be a three-day power break because of the training, which wasn't televised. In every other district there would be recaps of the previous hunger games, just to keep the excitement going, and probably some interviews with the mentors about 'their hope for this year's contestants' and the 'amazing skills that will be revealed later'. These were quotes that my mother told me the mentors said the one year that district twelve got to see these interviews. To the people of the capitol, District 12 was the place no one wanted to be. It was the place that needed the most work, which would more likely be given to the higher districts, 1,2 and 3. District 12 was ignored as much as possible, and that is what made me mad! Over the next three days I started stockpiling food for Katniss' Mother, Prim, Mother, Rory, Vick and Posy. Berries can be dried, nuts are nuts really, they don't go off, and meat can be made into stew or dried. I must admit, hunting was a lot harder. My shots at game weren't as good as Katniss', but they still wounded the targets. Luckily, none of the young ones needed anything other than food and water at the time. At first, greens were simple enough, as were berries and nuts. Fish and rabbit snares worked well, but the haul was not enough for all of us. I think the baker may be supporting us by trading in our favour. Stockpiling wasn't fun, hunting without Katniss wasn't fun, being without Katniss wasn't fun, wasn't fair. Trading with other desperate people wasn't fun either. Each person would raise their regular prices by about a third when the games were on because their supply was at risk of being found out, or it was temporarily unavailable. Where are you Katniss? Why did you have to go?


End file.
